Scared Now
by breather89
Summary: A parody of Sinister. Rick finds some reels that arrive in the mail, but finds each one is of a gruesome murder. When he begins connecting the dots, he doesn't realise he's putting the dumping ground in more and more danger...T for scariness and disturbing scenes.
1. Chapter 1

The Reels

**A/N: This is a parody of the movie **_**Sinister**_** but you don't have to have seen it to be reading. I like to put references in but I don't know if you'll know any. I also parody a lot of horror movies in at certain bits.**

Rick just lay back on the couch as he began to think. The younger ones were out bowling and he, Elektra and Faith were here because Gina wanted to talk about futures. He was panicking.

He had depended on other people all his life. And now he didn't have a clue what to do. All he knew now was that Gina was now talking to the girls and he could hear shouting, most likely Elektra.

Also, a box had arrived, with videos of success stories that care had. Mike had told them that the videos were only cassette form because they were quite old. Elektra asked if they were as old as Mike.

Rick had gotten bored and was flicking through the cassettes. They had dates, names of orphanages, going back fifty years. Elektra was right; they were as old as Mike!

Then he noticed something. A smaller box inside. It had an old projector inside, with some reels. About six reels. These looked really old, what people had before cassettes.

He wondered why they weren't covered in dust. People must have used them recently. Maybe because they liked old-fashioned.

He glanced at the dates. Looked like orphanage holidays. They looked like they were happy times. He looked through. He smiled.

_Christmas '64. Happy New Year '73. Valentine's '82. Easter Celebration '99. Summer Holiday '08. Halloween '11_. He wondered why an orphanage would space them so far apart. Maybe they were the only ones they had hold of. Anyway, he decided to watch them later if he could.

***  
"What do you mean, I'm going away?" Elektra screamed at Gina, standing up from her chair and shocking her. "Listen, Elektra, you're sixteen now. You should have left. You're seventeen in September; you should have gone ages ago."

Elektra scoffed. "So I'm too old to be here? Why am I still here?" "Because…there are anger issues?"

"Anger issues!" Elektra asked. "I stay here. Where exactly am I supposed to go anyway\y?" "Harrisons Orphanage in Essex. It's nice, by the sea, Elektra, you'll like it. It's not really an orphanage any more; it's just for older people that have behavioural and anti-social issues and helps you with day-to-day life after sixteen."

Elektra asked, "So I'm going to some institution?" "Not an institution, but a help place. Elektra, that place could help you out of the black hole you dug yourself in. your parents don't like how you became so disobedient so they recommended this."

Elektra sat, broken. They'd destroyed her. "How…long do I have to stay there?" she asked. Gina looked at her sheet. "Elektra, they've recommended two years." "Two years!" she shouted. "Barely eighteen months. But it's fine."

Elektra groaned. "I'm going to prison?" "No, just a help place. But it's very strict, Elektra, so It's the place they choose." "How strict"

Gina told her, "Elektra, it's all right."

Faith just looked away. She didn't want to be involved. All she was being told was that she'd have Elektra's room.

Elektra never cried. But here she was close.

Faith, wanting to help Elektra, later went on the laptop. She looked up Harrison Orphanage and noticed it was under a site about murder.

Reading, she got a shock. "In October 2011, a hideous murder was committed at this site. The orphanage contained three members of staff over late 20s. They and the six children in the orphanage, between eight and fifteen, went trick-or-treating. No one saw them alive after 8.49pm. At 8.00am, a visitor found their bodies in the hallway."

She decided not to tell Elektra. She was bad enough. But as she read, she saw that the youngest child there, eight-year-old Benedict Benjamin 'BB' had been kidnapped by their murderer and no one had found his body.,

The idea that a murderer was at the place where Elektra would be going to was impossible to bear. In summer 2012, the place was decorated and became an institution for, as Faith read, badly behaved children, pregnant under 22s, and public safety risks.

Rick was setting up the projector. It was very hard, the projector was old with two big wheels but he figured out where to put a reel and how to set it up. He also saw the reels. He decided Halloween. It was nearly October; it was time for the Halloween spirit.

He looked as the reel came up. It had the outside of a big house with a picture of an anchor above the door. The walls were white, the door was pink and it was getting late. He saw a girl, perhaps Jamaican, come out wearing a witch costume, hat and box shaped like a pumpkin., a boy Harry's age with a ghost costume, grinni9ng as he was covered in white, a boy in his teens in a Spiderman costume and a girl his age in a ballerina outfit. Two adults, one maybe a few years older than Tracy, and a woman in her forties, came out. Rick wondered who was holding the camera.

He saw the person with the camera for some reason, hiding in the bushes as they went trick-or-treating. The porch lights were on and the kids were eagerly getting candy.

Then the camera was above a skylight. It looked down to a kitchen. Another girl his age was texting, the four trick-or-treaters were in costume, eating at the table, a man at the stove, cooking. Rick couldn't see very much away from the table, but he suspected something. If this was a bit of fun, they wouldn't film from the bushes or a skylight. Also, there was complete silence in this movie. And the footage done with old film. He'd read about it, 8mm. no sound. Someone else came in, another girl, also his age, shouting at the one texting. He grinned, despite circumstances. Just like Elektra and Faith.

Then it all changed. It was almost pitch black. There was red paint on the wall. Dripping and in shapes. A pumpkin, a ghost, a witch. Then the camera went to the ground. There were three mats on them.

And Rick froze.

There were bodies. Eight bodies. The Spiderman boy was lying closest to the door, the younger man and the witch with him. On the second mat were the woman, the presumably other man, and the second boy. The girl with the phone was lying on her back. All eight were bound and gagged with black tape.

Rick looked as the camera went closer to the phone girl. No, wait, the child wasn't the second boy; it was presumably the shouting girl. She was slowly moving. They all seemed drugged or something. Rick suddenly knew what the red paint was.

He saw a knife coming from they side of the camera by the murderer. The girl with the phone opened her eyes slowly, moving, probably moaning. Rick couldn't bear the watch as the knife was at the girl's throat.

Who would do this? Kill a bunch of orphans? And why? Because they wanted to? Soon, the camera just showed a paintbrush on the wall, finishing the 'artwork'. Then, the person leaving the house and to a car in front. Then it ended.

Why would someone do that? Rick wondered. He put his hands over his nose and mouth and leaned forward, trying to think. He looked at the reels. This killer had been brutally murdering for fifty years? His crimes shouldn't be too hard to find, but how old would he be now? Late sixties? Seventies? Maybe eighties.

And then he remembered something else. There were six children at the table. But only five on the mats. That meant one child wasn't there. But why? Why not? Because they wanted to spare them for some reason? Some…twisted reason.

Rick felt sick. It was all he could do not to turn for the bathroom and throw up. All he knew was these belonged to a killer.

**A/N: Sorry it's short but it's to keep the interest going. Do you like it? Warning, the scenes are a bit …imaginative. Though in some cases it doesn't take much to guess **_**how**_** the other orphans die. And anyone guess what's gonna happen next?**


	2. Chapter 2

Terror Night

Faith looked at Elektra in the den that night, alone. Faith knew what Elektra was going into. That girl was headed to a correctional place. She didn't know if she should tell her. Faith just turned and left, wondering. Elektra would be even more abandoned.

Rick was in his room, still. He hoped it didn't disturb anyone in the other rooms. He didn't want any of the little kids coming in, especially if they called Mike. He'd call the police and ask why Rick hadn't handed them over. In fact, why hadn't he? Because he just was curious. He wanted to know, see if there was anything that he could help. He just…didn't know. He felt drawn to the reels.

He had slotted the next one in and aimed the projector at the wall. He had put a bed sheet up and was sorting everything out. _Christmas '64_. He hoped this wouldn't be as horrifying as the last.

It started off as normal. A pretty living room. The camera – or rather, the person filming it – was behind a couch. The opposite wall was cream, the other couch brown, old-fashioned, like a war film, with a cover. A Christmas tree was next to the sofa on one side, a burnt out fireplace in the other. Then people began coming in.

A girl about ten or eleven years old, a boy of maybe eight or nine, both wearing white. The girl had a nightie on, the boy wore pyjamas. Then a man came in wearing a dressing gown. He looked maybe late twenties, early thirties. Another man slightly older, with thinning hair and a growing beard. A much older girl, now dressed, wearing her hair up in a bob and a small very plain skirt. A boy came in, maybe about Johnny's age, fourteen or fifteen, with long hair for a boy, almost shoulders, wearing green pyjamas.

The older boy picked up a book from the side and jumped onto the couch by the camera. The older man was saying something to the little boy, making him walk out the room. Rick then saw the camera focus on the fireplace.

The girl went over and picked up a little toy train, then putting it down again.

Later, it had another man, perhaps thirty, reading from a book to the girl and boy, as well as two other children, a girl with blonde hair very short about Rick's age and a girl a bit younger than that, about thirteen or fourteen, with red hair and freckles. All were wearing nightclothes. Again, no sound, but Rick could see this orphanage was going to end in a terrible event at Christmas.

How weird, if you died on Christmas.

Those children now, they'd be old. If they lived.

Now, it was darkness. Just the light in the fireplace, burning. Tinsel on the floor, hanging from the fireplace where stockings would hang. It had the two girls from the clip before lying facing each other, nearest to the left, asleep. Then the little girl, the two younger men, the older boy, the other girl, the oldest man. All bound and gagged with duct tape.

The camera turned to the Christmas tree. The long strands of tinsel, hooked round the fireplace hooks and, Rick noticed, round the victims' necks, were by the Christmas tree stump. Someone lifted up the tree, put the strands of tinsel underneath on a small red wheeled plank, and grabbed the handle. The camera went back to the people.

Rick knew someone must be pulling the cart away, but the tinsel nooses were wound round each fireplace hook very tightly, as the bodies began to move upwards. Rick nearly looked away when he saw that the victims had begun kicking their legs. They weren't _quite_ unconscious.

Then all eight of them were drawn up, forced up by someone pulling the tinsel, to the hooks. He could see how terrified they looked, the little girl swinging from each side. But think it must have skipped a bit forward, because the three older girls and one of the men had stopped kicking, just hanging there, swinging.

Then forward again, because the older boy and the second man were still, their legs kicked against the side of the fireplace. The little girl was just staring at the camera, her eyes wide open. Rick didn't know if she was dead.

Then it stopped.

Rick turned it off and put his hands in his face. That was one of the most sickening things he'd ever seen. A group of people including a little girl – a little girl! Not much older than Jody =- killed like that. As with the last one, the youngest boy was missing, presumed kidnapped. But why would someone do this?

Why was someone doing this to orphanages?

He couldn't settle that night. He just kept finding it hard to try. Remembering the blood on the wall…someone's sick idea of killing someone that way…that girl…she was so frightened. He calculated. If she'd been eleven forty-nine years ago, she was old enough to be his gran. If she'd lived.

What kind of life would she have had, an orphan half a century ago? Just a little kid. Of course, the three men might not have been around today, but Rick knew that little girl, her life snuffed out at Christmas. He didn't bear thinking about it.

Then he heard thumps. No, it wasn't imagination. He got up and opened the door. A lot more thumps. And then he looked down the dark corridor. It felt like someone was there. But he knew there was unlikely to be anyone.

Then screaming. He nearly ju8mped and half wanted to go back in his room. But then he heard voices. Mike.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he heard Lilly crying. "I just thought I saw my door open." "Listen, Lilly, it's OK." "What's going on?" Faith. "Oh, Lilly had a nightmare." "More likely a night terror. Lilly, are you OK?" "Faith, I think she just needs a lie down. Night terrors are quite horrible."

Then silence. Rick went back to his room, exhausted. Just how could he fix it?

Floss just lay down on her bed, holding Geoff. She'd had a great time out bowling and she was now sleepy. She didn't notice the door slowly opening…

When Floss woke up, she saw stains all over the door. Bright black stains. A weird shape as well. Like someone had painted a goat head on the wall. She frowned, asking Geoff, "What do you think it is?" then she answered, "NO, I don't think that's right. Really." After she left, she didn't see someone looking at her. From nowhere exactly. More like a different dimension. The dimension no one comes back from.

Rick was in his room again, when everyone else was having lunch. He didn't want anyone else coming in. he'd got pictures from uploading the reels to the computer and labelling them. He'd labelled them Rick's research, putting them privately in a file. Now he'd got out pictures of the ghost costume boy from _Halloween '11_ and the boy in pyjamas in _Christmas '64_. With a Post-it note he wrote _Where are you two?_ As well as their likely ages now.

Now he'd got _Happy New year '73_. He had it slotted in the projector and had the sheet up. Turning the light off and drawing the curtain, he had the projector ready.

A few children were seated at a table in coats. A girl about fourteen in a pink coat, with a brown plait, a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen with short black pixie hair coming downstairs in a pink silk nightie and slippers, hand in hair, as if having just woken up, the other children sitting down were a boy maybe fifteen years old, and a boy about ten years old. Both were brown-haired and in green coats, the younger boy holding a bag and getting out sweets.

A woman with long black hair about forty came downstairs and a man with long hair, though actually suited for the time, coming in in a black coat. Rick took in what the building looked like. The second girl had come down some wooden stairs almost directly above the table, the walls were yellow and the door had a Christmas wreath on the side.

It had a poster on the wall of some seventies band but apart from that and the date on the reel, it could have taken place anytime in the last half century.

Then it changed again. The camera was at night-time, obviously taking place in a different room. What looked like a young child's room, with a teddy bear on a blue bedspread, yellow walls, a small selection of books and padded cushions all over the floor.

There was also a very strange symbol on the wall by the door; what looked like a goat's head. Then the door opened. A small walk down a corridor, then the wooden steps from earlier. Only now, the girl's pink coat was just left on the stairs.

Then the camera turned. The man, woman, two girls and older boy were on the five chairs. Like the other two videos, they were bound and gagged with black tape, and there was a clock positioned by one of the doors. The camera also went extremely slowly round the table. The older girl's head began to loll, her eyes blinked.

On the table and on the older girl and boy's laps were cans. Of petrol. Rick began to guess what the clock was right in front of.

The man had a candle right by him, as well as what must have been cooking oil all over the table.

Rick felt horrified.

He saw someone set the camera down by the clock as they picked up something off camera. The clock was one of those old alarm clocks, with Mickey Mouse arms as hands and both we repointing close to midnight. New Year's Eve.

At midnight on New Year'[s Eve, the house would blow.

The person went outside the house. Rick decided that could be a good thing; he could see what the house looked like.

It was two storeys high, with diamond windows, boxes of flowers on the windows. The part of the house above the main door was pointed, like someone had been thinking of a church when designing the house.

Then it just went strange. There was a small yellow glow in one of the windows. Where the kitchen was. Then it went very odd. The windows flew open, banging, and the kitchen was on fire. Rick thought he could see the people at the table attempting to get free, but he knew the people were doomed.

It was really dark, but he began to see something on the sign outside. A name of somewhere. Then he'd know where it began.

He turned the projector off, hearing it click sound. He put his hand at his face. He needed more pictures. But most of all, he needed to get the evidence to stop this person before it was too late.

Not that this person would need much now. They'd be old. they'd be out there though, a criminal who hadn't been caught, hurt lives, took lives, ruined childhoods. The childhoods of the children he took, the ten-year-old boy, the eight-year-old boy, the boy in pyjamas. And their friends, just waiting, wasting their lives away never knowing what happened to them.

Faith was in the den, thinking. Elektra was going in a couple of weeks and she would have to keep the fact she knew about the place secret. She looked round, hoping to not think about it.

Johnny and Tyler were at the laptop, Tee and Carmen were talking on the other sofa, harry was in the garden. Faith just lay back, wondering. Should she tell Elektra what her parents chose for her? Faith t6hen glanced at the door. Was it her or was there something there?

A shadow seemed to move there. Then she heard Gina shouting.

"What is this!" everyone ran upstairs, finding Gina in the corridor between Lilly and Carmen's room and Tee's. she pointed at the wall. The painting similar to a goat's head. Carmen tried not to laugh, while Faith's eyes widened.

Gina said, "Someone…has drawn on the wall…with indelible ink. I can't scrub it off!" Mike came up, squeezing past the children and then noticed, "Guys, this image is actually frightening, so whoever did it, please say." Silence.

"Right. Downstairs."

Rick was sitting on the couch as Mike went on. "There is…ink on the wall. Gina can't get it off, it won't budge. Now, you're in a bit of trouble, but please, I would like to know."

Silence.; then Tee asked, "Why would someone draw a goat's head? It just looks sick." Johnny asked, "And why with ink?"  
"Maybe…" Mike looked downwards. "It's a joke. But it's not funny, so if anyone has any idea, just tell me in the study."

When he went away, Rick thought. There was a goat head drawing in the fire,. Could it be that the killer was making his move?!

Maybe, he thought. But how could they have got in the house? He'd have to see the other films. Understand exactly what was going on. He also needed to look at the laptop, see what information he could get.

**A/N: Well, do you like it? I did my best, but has anyone got any ideas about what's going to happen in the other videos? Just think about the titles.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Clue

Rick was in his bedroom again, setting up the reels. He had the next one out, one called _Easter '99_. He slotted it in the projector, then set it up. He hoped what he found wasn't too horrific.

He began to see a number of people on a garden patio. Some children had baskets with Easter eggs. There was a man in his thirties, with a loose t-shirt, a woman who looked maybe Middle Eastern, and a man in his fifties. Children kept running up with baskets. One was around six or seven years old, same age as Floss, and had pretty long black wavy hair.

She was holding the basket up at the table, as a taller girl with jeans holding a basket helped her. Two boys, with brown hair, possibly twins, came up with a basket and dumped it, looking bored.

The camera went to a black girl sitting by the flowers with a toy rabbit. A girl about thirteen or fourteen went to her and sat down with her, the littlest girl toddling to the two. Then they were seated round the table, the older girl taking a drink as the others placed the eggs out.

Then darkness. The camera, which had focused on the table, showing empty and half-empty plates, the rabbit and a slice of cake, now turned, past a blue wall, to the ground. On carts, large ones with tiny wheels, were the people.

The first one had the older man, the oldest girl and a basket which had been filled with Easter eggs. The second had the twins and the Middle Eastern woman. The third had the younger man, the younger girl and the black girl. All, as the others were, were tied up, gaged and drugged. The eggs were littered round.

Then someone was pushing the cart. Why? Then Rick noticed. They were pushing them into the ground. Someone had dug pits about four, five foot deep. He was almost sick. They were doing something worse than the others. They were burying the victims – children! – alive.

Then as they were pushing the second cart, Rick saw that the person froze. A car headlight was going past the house at a side gate or somewhere. They highlighted something on the wall then drove off. The killer carried on.

Rick didn't even want to look. He just ran outside, ran to his bathroom and threw up in the sink.

When Mike saw Rick come out of the bathroom, he wondered what the boy had done. Rick had been a bit distant lately, what was he planning?

He just went back to the staff room when he heard something click. It was from Rick's room. What was he doing?  
Mike got up and went to the door. Looking in, he saw Rick put a small box on the side, with an old-fashioned projector. Going in, Mike looked. He couldn't make out the reels, so he took the box to his room. Turning the light on, he saw them properly. "_Valentine's Day '82_, Halloween '11_, what is this?" he asked_. Then he said, "What has that boy been looking at?"

Then he guessed. They must be from one of the orphanages. But why? Oh well, if Rick had borrowed them, the box wasn't going back yet, he might as well leave him to it.

Going back in, he saw, the door open and light from another room, pictures on the wall.

A picture of a little boy in pyjamas, looking away from the camera towards something. A boy dressed as a ghost for Halloween. The pictures were a bit fuzzy because they were zoomed in, but Mike made out a few things.

Then underneath. _Boy. Aged 9 -12 in 1964. About fifties now._ And the next. _Boy. About ten in 1973. About fifty now._ And the last. _Boy. Eight (nine?) in 2011, aged 10 or 11 now_.

The last one really seemed to catch Mike.

He remembered something from the care homes about two years ago.

_Mike had gone to a meeting in late October 2011 in Essex. He'd driven all the way there and had taken part to discuss moving children._

_The social worker there, Mr Hadsham, a man in his twenties, had opened the door. "Oh hi Mr Milligan,. Urm, we're a bit messy at the moment so it's going to take a while."_

_Inside, the discussion had been about letting one of the children there in. "It's just that I heard BB was very displaced and he's been screaming at night, talking about his family." "Ah yes," the social worker lent back, "BB lost his parents when he was very young. Recently,. He's been talking about scary men, shadows in his room. And he says that he sees snakes on the floor."  
It sounded as if the boy had problems. Mike asked, "So, when can he move into Elmtree?" "We'll tell him tonight and he can go on 2__nd__ November."_

_Mike smiled as he left. Elmtree could help provide this boy with what he needed,._

Mike now wondered. He remembered when the news came. Actually, just a sec…

Mike was down at the laptop with the Internet up. Typing 8in the name of the place, he looked at the news report. He clicked play and then it began.

"tragedy today as eight victims are found in a gruesome murder site in Essex. At Harrison Orphanage, a home which had six orphans residing, the three members of staff and five of the orphans, aged between eleven and fifteen, were found dead. The victims are…" at that point, pictures came up. "Mr James Harrison, 46, Ms Bella Nigin, 49, Mr Nicholas Black, 27, Bernadette Barque, 11, Iain Wodstoc, 14, Mikayla Jones, 14, Nina De Wynter, 15, and Lulu Fot, 15, were all found brutally stabbed in the hallway. Benedict Benjamin Thomas, 8, is missing. No report on where he could be or who the killer is, but there is a suspicion he was kidnapped because of an adoption gone wrong."

Mike remembered all the rumours. That BB had been taken because some people wanted him and woke everyone else up, killing them. But that was disproven because the children were still in costume. He remembered hearing the news and had tried to hide newspapers from the children. But Tracy had still asked and he'd had to tell her not to tell anyone else, but one of the children was due to come to Elmtree.

Mike had always listened out for news of BB. But although there were a few sightings in southern England and Calais, no news. There was now a rumour he'd been kidnapped to sell in a foreign country, though how they'd got past the borders, Mike didn't know.

Mike never heard about BB again and assumed that the boy was dead. But now, he was beginning to wonder. Was there something about BB in those reels?

Rick was at the laptop, looking in the section with the Easter celebrations. He was doing it frame by frame, the part where the car passed and the sign was showing. Adjusting the brightness, he began to see a name. _Juniper Tree_.

He picked up the reel, looking at the date. Then typed _orphanage murder buried alive juniper tree 1999_. Almost immediately, he found a news report.

"The Juniper Tree orphanage in Torquay has had a tragic incident, where five children and three members of staff were found buried in their back yard." Rick looked through the pictures. Smiling children. Happy. Not knowing they were close to death. "juniper Tree, established 1985, has been the home for many children. At present, six children resided in the orphanage. Fifteen-year-old Nina Queen, fourteen-year-old Katy Miln, thirteen-year-olds Edward and Jacob Leaves, and ten-year-old Zoe Winches were found dead. Six-year-old Fall Jacobs is missing."

He then looked at the pictures. Apparently, police had come on Easter Sunday when the children hadn't turned up for a fete and there was no reply at the doors. After seeing goat head pictures the officers went in the garden where newly dug earth was.

The police were putting out a reward for where Fall could be.

Rick couldn't help but look at some more headlines. "_Police Find no more Information regarding Missing Six-Year-Old. Hope Fading for Little Fall. Fall Jacobs: one Year On. Police Arrest Suspect in Orphanage Massacre._"

Rick clicked on the last one.

_28__th__ April 2001_

_Just over two years after the murders at Juniper Tree Orphanage, a suspect has been found who police say is the murderer behind the horrible massacre. Mr Karl Robbins, 47, was staying in a homeless shelter a mile from the orphanage at the time. In April 1999, he was living out of his car. Police, after pulling him over in late March, found a shovel in his car._

Rick felt queasy. Was this the man?

He began searching more links. The man was searched and his new shelter searched. People remembered him being with a little girl in summer 1999, but he swore it was his niece.

Rick didn't read much more but began to think. This man seemed to have all the evidence pointing at him. But he may not be guilty because he had two more reels in the box after the man was arrested.

Rick knew what he had to do. Maybe the killer showed up in a reel. He needed time.

"So," Elektra walked round her room, "you're saying I'm going to a loony bin?" Faith looked at her, embarrassed. "Err…yeah."

Elektra threw her hands in the air and stood up. "Right! If they want me to go to some pyscho house then that's their problem." Faith mumbled, "It gets worse."!

As Elektra was at the door, she turned. "How?" Faith looked down, not wanting to tell. "How does it get…worse?" "Well, a few years ago some people were murdered there./" that did it. Elektra ran downstairs, slamming the office door open.

"HOW CAN YOU SEND ME TO A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WERE MURDERED!" she screamed at Mike, who just looked up at her like he'd been turned to statue. Faith slowly came after her.

"Well, Elektra," he looked down, "the place is a very good one. It was highly recommended by social workers, plus your sister and her husband live nearby…so…"  
"You want me to go to a place where people were…" she turned to Faith. "what exactly?" "Mutilated." Elektra went pale. "That place could be a death-trap!" "Listen Elektra…" "Did they catch the guy?" "No." "Well how don't you know an axe murderer isn't there!"  
Mike then tried, "Look Elektra, these murders are rare. You're more likely to be hit by an asteroid. Well, perhaps not, but it's a safe place now. They had the place bolted all night, security cameras, identification.. Elektra, it's good."  
"So I'm going to prison?" He sighed. "NO Elektra." "Why?" "Because your sister wants you to be nearby. She doesn't want to lose you again."

Elektra seemed to calm down. "Are you sure it's safe?" "Positive." He tried smiling.

Elektra left and then he looked at Faith./ "You looked on the Internet?" "Yeah. I read about…the drawing of a goat head there and how the little boy…" "Faith, I'm telling you something I haven't told anyone." "What?" "I was one of the last people to see the social workers. I went there because there were some troubles with BB and he was going to Elmtree. But Faith, it's OK. I've tried."

Rick was operating _Valentine's Day_. The lights were off, the door shut, the new photographs of the young girl and the picture of the sign on the wall. He looked, wondering.

Silence. Just silence. Someone was coming into the red living room, with a cake in a heart shape. The person was a girl around fifteen years old, with long dark hair and skin, a girl a few years younger with hoop earrings nearly reaching her shoulders. Another girl came in, wearing a _very_ short skirt that made Rick blush. And a tiny girl in a red frilled dress and hair just below her shoulders. The older girls began talking and then she walked out the room.

Then it was outside. The cake with a fork in was on the table. On the patio, there were some small syringes with red liquid in them. Three deckchairs were set up. The black girl was on the first, her head swaying. Then her shirt was pulled up and someone injected the red liquid in her. The girl shook slightly, her hands shaking. Rick noticed a small dog barking between the deckchairs.

They weren't hurting the dog. The second girl, the one with earrings, opened her eyes slowly as the killer injected the red liquid under her t-shirt. Rick wondered why it was the top.

As the final girl was being injected, her eyes wide and staying wide, he knew. The liquid was medicine. Someone was injecting a liquid that stopped the girls' hearts.

He didn't have much left. He just had numerous photos up, some names underneath and wondering what to do. There had to be a connection, besides the orphanage. Find out who he was.

**A/N: Well, does anyone like it?**


	4. Chapter 4

The Discovery

It was a couple of weeks after Rick had last seen the reels. He had tried not to think about them. It was difficult, especially as he knew there was something behind the reels. But it seemed life was just going on and it was hard to think back.

He tried to ignore the reels, hidden in the box in the back of his cupboard, and the pinboard, covered with towels. But at night, he'd see the picture of that little Jamaican girl in his mind; he'd see her eyes begging. For her life.

And he knew he ah to help.

Maybe he should tell Mike. It seemed the only way.

Mike was in the study. It was Halloween and the children were having a little party in the den. Minus Elektra. She had done nothing but sulk in her room and cry. Honestly, Elektra was crying. She felt useless. He knew he hated doing this, but it was what her sister had said. And now he wondered if she'd forgive him.]#

When Rick came in, he saw the boy looked scared. "What is it?" he asked. Rick looked down and said, "I read about the Harrison Orphanage. And about Juniper Tree orphanage in the nineties." Mike looked up. "I saw pictures on your wall." Rick nodded. "I haven't told anyone this, but Benjamin – the missing boy – almost came here. He was due to come two days after the rest were killed. It's complicated, but he said he saw men in his room. And the other kids kept saying people were drawing animal faces on the walls."

Rick felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Well, just don't frighten yourself." Rick walked out. He still had one more reel to look at but he needed research. It was one more attempt.

Typing _Benjamin Benedict Thomas BB murder_ he found a description. The boy's birthday was 23rd May and there was a little picture of what he'd look like aged ten. There was also a dedication site to missing English children. Rick thought he might look.

Writing _Christmas Boy_, _Happy New year Boy_ and _Valentine's Day Girl_ on a notepad, he scrolled. Some of the earliest photos were black-and-white and he found what he was looking for. Underneath a picture was a caption _Jacob Scarlet, 25/12/64_. When rick clicked he read.

"Jacob was nine years old when he vanished from Sunstone Orphanage on Christmas Day 1964 in county Durham…" he looked down. A picture of the cordoned-off living room. Jacob had last been seen wearing a blue coat and red shoes, but Rick knew he'd worn pyjamas. It said that the other children there had been strangled, but rick knew they were hanged.

He looked through. It had numerous unaccredited sightings as well as an anniversary public ceremony in 1984, with people from the town, including school friends, holding candles. The video of it was fuzzy, nearly thirty years old, but he could make out big pictures of Jacob and candles. The last news link he found was from 1994 of what Jacob would look like at 39. Rick enlarged the picture and printed it before looking at information.

The next child was mark Peter Fox, who was nine years old in 1973. "Fox was born on 26th July 1964 and his parents were unstable, sending him to Millsword Orphanage in Norfolk in 1972. Fox was due to go to Charleswin orphanage in the Highlands three weeks after he vanished…" rick was a bit shocked. BB and Mark were both about to go to another orphanage.

He read that the victims, 41-year-old Isobel Watson, 44-year-old Isaac Everblue, 14-year-old Jade Blosom and 14-year-old Samantha Watkins and 15-year-old Philip Everest, were found at about 12.15am on New Year's Day 1974 when a neighbour partying had noticed the fire in the Norfolk Orphanage.

Rick read the fire was put about about twenty minutes after it began and deduced that all five victims were drugged, possibly with an unidentified green drink found in a cupboard, before being bound with tape and set on fire.

He felt sick again. But he knew he had to do this.

In the Valentine's Day one, he had no luck. He didn't know the clues. He looked through the colour photographs in 1982, stopping on a smiling brown-haired girl. She looked just like the girl. He'd seen her in a red dress.

He clicked. "Milly was eight years old when she vanished from Charleswin orphanage in Scotland…" he trailed off. The children, they were headed to orphanages the next child was taken from. It couldn't be coincidence. Looking at the page with Jacob again, he read the boy was to move to Millsword Orphanage in April. He had a hunch where Milly would have ended in.

He scrolled down the page until he found it. Juniper. She had been due to go to Juniper. And Rick was certain Fall would have ended up at…

Hmm. Rick hadn't seen _Summer Holiday '08_. Well, here was his excuse.

***Rick had the reels taken out, dust blown off, and set up in the den while everyone was out. He watched it, notebook ready, and the photos and articles printed beside him. It started out normal, three children at a beach. A man was walking in front, as a woman a bit older than Gina and a girl of thirteen years old talked to her. The camera was from several feet away, maybe behind a boulder.

The video had a brightly coloured ball and a boy about twelve or thirteen was throwing it, a girl with black skin and small plates catching, giggling. Then two girls, one really too old for an orphanage, the other from earlier, sunbathing with glasses. The boy went to another towel and sat there reading as the man stood up, holding a wallet.

Then complete darkness. Someone was holding the camera down at the shore. The moonlight shone on the golden sands as the foamy waves moved past. Then the camera stopped. Around four feet away from each other were the three girls and the adults. Except Rick couldn't see most of their bodies.

They were buried under the sand.

Rick felt awful. He saw the man, who was closest to the water; his head still, wrapped i9n tape, a seven inch hole round his head, filled with one of the towels. The three girls were next and the woman ta the end, her head flopping, almost dead. The ball bobbed in the waves nearby, as were the children's clothes nearby. Then the sea began moving slightly quicker, the water nearly up to the man's chin. Thank God he wasn't awake.

Rick saw with wide eyes the first girl, the black one, open her eyes slowly, looking slowly top the left and seeing the man almost completely underwater, just strands of hair floating, and then tried moving. Rick could see cracks in the sand where she was moving and trying to get out. Her eyes looked up in confusion. Why confusion? Not horror or fright?

Then Rick guessed. The killer must be someone the girl knew!

The killer must be somebody who worked in the care business but had avoided this. Perhaps they worked at where the videos had come from and hid away the evidence? Why keep it? Why not destroy it? Maybe because they liked watching the terror?

Rick turned it off. And knew what to do.

Lilly was at the laptop later. The night terrors had been too much for her and she couldn't keep the horrible drawing of a goat head out of her head now. She had tried to find the pattern online but had discovered something cruel. She'd printed it out and had now got the information by the laptop.

Gina was in the shop when she noted something. While the clerk was pricing the candy and fireworks Gina thought she saw something in the corner of her eye.

It was a bit like a shadow. A dark cloak perhaps. And a small blow of cold air. The hisses she heard also chilled her.

But she didn't know what it was.

Lying on her bed, Tee didn't see the creature slithering beneath her bed. A large cobra snake beneath the bed, moving through. She just had her eyes closed and didn't look down.

In the den, while Rick was on the laptop, Tyler was on the sofa. He didn't look at what was away from the TV; otherwise he would have been looking at a small dark scorpion beneath him.

All three of these creatures weren't actually fully in the shop, bedroom or den, but were attached to Elm tree in some way. In the curtain between this world and beyond. And that creature would be here soon.

**A/N: Well, have you liked it? Especially with Halloween coming up. I would have put the chapters up the day after the reviews came but I wasn't near that computer. By the way, judopixie thanks for the reviews, although I'd like it a bit more if other people showed they liked it. A good review is a good author; a bad review is a horrific author. Anyway, with the pattern of the videos and its obvious Elmtree's next, anyone guess what's going to happen?**


	5. Chapter 5

The Revelation

Rick was at the laptop when he noticed the picture by him. The goat head. It was an article copied from somewhere. It was about an ancient religion, he thought.

"_The cult of the Larua is thousand of years old. The actual name for it is unknown, but was first sighted by Romans in the land of Israel in the first century BC. The goat head was their symbol and it was known for taking children to sacrifice. It was deemed as a protector of their land and at any event, such as the New Year or a coronation of a new king, a child would be sacrificed. Because of unhappiness this followed, only orphans were chosen."_

Rick then turned the page. It had a Roman picture of soldiers attacking men in robes, children in chains, and taking them away. It looked like Renaissance. "The cult was allowed to carry on af_ter the Romans stopped them, although told that if they dared practice inside Italia or take any freeborn children, they would be crucified. In AD 38, the cult moved to Italia after disagreements with the Hebrew people an taking their slaves caused problems. In Italia however, in the reign of Emperor Domitian (AD 81 to AD 96) the cult were caught taking and sacrificing a freeborn high-class Roman girl. The seven leaders were crucified while the rest were made as slaves to the emperor._

He carried on. _"In about AD 100, still in Italia, the cult began dispersing but they said their god Larua, a creature with a pointy face and had created the goat head as recognition of his place there, would kill orphans. The only known cause was when in circa AD 278, in modern day Spain, an orphanage in the coast burnt down. The cult said they killed orphans using the elemental methods of air, fire, water and earth. They said they would strange or hang, burn or give for bowel inflammation, drown or make blood flow, or bury alive._"

That seemed to match with the murder methods. So it seemed someone was taking advantage of the cult, or maybe a member themselves working in care, and killing orphans this way.

"_The cult was written about again in the renaissance but the Catholic Church refused to have anything symbolising it in art. However, pictures of goat heads were often seen around the cities of Italy, then states, often at murder sites. The rumours were someone was copying the Larua method and killing orphans like this. One way of death were sometimes when a whole orphan house was murdered except one child who would never be found. This child is usually over the age of three but under the age of fourteen._"

Rick looked at a part labelled **Modern Day**_**.**_ "_In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in Italy, some places where orphans we reliving were found to have goat heads drawn on the walls, although these were often covered up by authorities. In about 1780 the murders stopped but were common in France and Austria. In about 1860, they were first reported in Germany and Switzerland. The ones after the 1930s are vague because the murders may have been committed by Nazis or bombs. Nevertheless, those who still believe the cult is around and killing say the murderers are likely somewhere in Europe. They have listed modern possible murders online_."

Rick went on the site and found a list of dates murders may have taken place. He wasn't interested until he saw _Great Britain and Ireland_. On it, he read the first possible one was the one at Christmas 1964. His blood chilled as he read that prior to that, a murder had been committed at an orphan house in 1953 in France, the possible starting link, where the whole boarding house was found to have burst pipes.

It had the names of the other orphanages below. It also said that if, and Rick knew this, a child was about to go to one orphanage, before they could, at an event, the child would be taken by cult members and everyone else killed.

So…the last one was in Essex and BB had been due to come here…but why wait so long?

Then Rick had a horrible thought. Maybe the videos languished in boxes for years and the first event after they were watched was the night the cult came? So someone at the Christmas house must have watched the videos between Halloween and Christmas, though those ones had vanished, being so long, and the one on New Year must have seen them in the few days between Christmas and New Year. And it went on.

Right, Rick thought, he'd look and see. What event came soon? At the most it would be Christmas, when the police would come round and arrest these people in the act. Then he froze.

He knew _exactly_ what holiday would come next/


	6. Chapter 6

Bonfire Night '13

Jody put her head on her hand as she sipped at dinner. She was bored, tired and sleepy. It was dinner on 5th November and they were going to have a bonfire outside. All but Harry were there; he was too young for this and he and Floss were staying at a friend's. Jody hated fireworks – they were too loud. And a waste of space.

She looked as Faith, Elektra and Frank were at one side of the table, finishing their meals. Johnny, Tee and Tyler were on her end, finishing up. Carmen and Lilly were half-asleep, eyes rolling. Mike and Gina were in the main part of the kitchen, clearing up. But Jody just felt weird.

"Come on," Gina called, "or you're not getting fireworks. And put coats on, it's freezing!" Jody was walking to her room to get her coat when she thought in the dim light of the upstairs corridor, she saw someone. Someone in a white sheet. Like a ghost. She blinked, and then turned the light on. Nothing there.

Turning, she went into her room.

Walking to her bed, she picked up her coat and gloves, as somebody stood in the doorway. A boy in pyjamas. But no ordinary boy; he had pale cracked skin, huge black bags under and around his eyes, almost like a corpse. As Jody turned, he'd vanished. Walking downstairs, a tall boy in swimming trunks stood at the top. Slowly, he ran down silently, and turned, disappearing in the curtain between.

Then a little boy in a dressing gown hid behind the doorway between the corridor and the den, watching. Silently.

Jody didn't see him, or the girl in a hiding place under the table, with long wavy black hair. Unsmiling, nearly dead. Or the girl in the red dress at the patio, seeing the bonfire.

Tonight, the child would be chosen. And taken.

Rick looked at the reels, curiously. Could there be any more proof before he called the police?

He just skimmed through the box until he found something he wore he hadn't seen before. _Extended Endings_.

He put it in the projector and watched.

It had the Halloween one. The drawings on the wall in blood, of pumpkins, ghosts and witches. But then, it showed a child in painting overalls, dragging an axe.

In the doorway, he could see them, the doorway of the house, just after walking out. A flash of lightning illuminated …BB.

Rick sat up. BB, holding the axe in his right hand, his hand rising to his lips as he shushed. Then he walked forward, vanishing. It then went to the Happy New Year one. In front of the burning house, the boy stood there, in his dressing gown. And shushed.

The Christmas one. The dead bodies swinging, dead. The tiny fireplace crackling just underneath them, the tree on a cart being driven away. And Jacob came up to the screen in his pyjamas, staring right at it. And shushed.

Valentine's Day '82. Rick sat up as he saw the little girl put a syringe down on the table, smiling as she did. Then shushed.

Then it had little Fall taking off gardening gloves, her red dress almost unstained. The graves were now filled with mud and the Easter egg baskets were scattered round. And shushed.

The beach. The boy sat on one of the towels, turning to the camera. And shushed before pushing himself in the water and vanishing.

Then the reel stopped. Rick felt sick. It wasn't just the news the children had done it, but he felt uneasy. Looking down at his glass, he saw an odd green liquid. And then he heard talking at the door.

"I really like the extended endings, they make things much nicer."

Floss.

Outside, Frank, Faith and Tyler were lying on the bench, half-asleep. Gina was sitting in a chair, wondering why she felt so tired. The guy on the bonfire was nearly burned out, the fireworks still packed, sausages uneaten.

Tee walked up to her and said, "Gina, I'm tired." Very child-like. "Tee, just lie down." She went over to a picnic blanket Carmen and Lilly were on, before nestling down by them. Johnny and Mike, inside, were beginning to put their heads in their hands. Jody was the only one standing away from anything.

But then Jody fell over, her vision blurring and falling deeply asleep.

She was asleep before she hit the ground.

When she woke, she was on one of the sofas. She could hardly see, but felt her wrists wrenched behind her. Looking round, she could see on a mattress on the floor near the table were Faith, Lilly and Frank. All were tied up, on their sides. On the other sofa, she could see Gina and on the floor beside her, Tee.

On the table were fireworks, lined up. On the floor scattered were fireworks and a black-brown powder. Gunpowder. It was also all over Jody and the others.

Jody swore she could see Mike lying by the door. Also tied up and not moving. And Carmen and Tyler's feet behind the other sofa. The pool table had been moved to beside the two, put on its side. The cues lay beside Faith. Johnny was propped up in one of the chairs, bound and gagged.

Jody looked as she saw someone. A figure in a dark cloak with a pointed face.

***  
Sorry Rick." She said, as he began to close his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Sight of Larua

Rick opened his eyes as he could see Floss dragging him in the den. He felt his hands behind him and saw tape on his ankles. Floss knelt down by him and strapped a firework to his leg. Looking drowsily round, Rick saw the pool table next to him. The table legs were at his legs and he could see round.

Just in front of him he could see Frank, his eyes closed, looking right at him. And he also saw Lilly behind him, her ponytail hanging down, asleep. Rick looked up at Floss, who was saying, "Laura says I can have a better time if I go with him."

Rick understood what was going on – Larua brainwashed the children. He was really a deity. There had been something behind the myths.

A figure in a black cloak stood where the pool table used to be. He seemed there, but then again, not there. All he saw was just a glimmer of a person. Floss went over to him and started getting a small plastic bag.

Throwing gunpowder over Rick and most of the floor, she turned and started to get the box of matches.

Rick saw no way out of this. Simply no way. All he could do was close his eyes and hope it wasn't too painful.


	8. Chapter 8

An End to a Pain

_He looked in the box as he frowned. Odd. A weird picture of water pipes. Oh well, he'd go. The kids needed bedtime. But just three hours later, he saw it again._

_Confused, he looked at the picture. Normal. He would ask about it later._

_Two and a half weeks later it was Christmas and he soon knew why. Seeing Jacob tie tinsel round the tree base, his body limp and confused. Why was Jacob doing this?_

_Jacob then pulled on the cart as the man began flying upwards. Kicking his legs in the air, he tried escaping as he hit the brick fireplace. Some of the others were as well. But then, it was ending. His pain was over._

_She looked at the strange reel in the box. _Christmas '64._ She wondered who left it there. Some reels had been brought over for some home movies but now she was confused. The four children were watching TV but she had little time. After watching it though, she need time to calm down. It was…just a sick joke._

_#she didn't think that four days later when she was on a chair, after having had dinner, half-asleep. Her vision blurred as she saw Mark walk round the table, throwing liquid over them. Then she saw. Petrol. What was the boy doing? She was so sleepy she almost didn't care. But then she saw the girl's alarm clock by the boiler room, connected to the door with matches. Then Mark smiling as he walked out._

_Her pain was over_.

***  
_he looked at the strange projector and two reels in the box as the dog walked out. But he knew this wasn't fun. Some sick person had put these together. That cold February afternoon, he walked out and saw little Milly standing there. "What you got there?" she smiled. "Not for children."_

_Sometime later, as he sat on a deckchair, his eyes beginning to open as he saw blurs going past each chair, he remembered the green drink at dinner. Outside was unbearable in February, especially up here, but he struggled. He could hear the dog barking and also saw the girls next to him. He saw the first two were twitching slightly, their fingers and toes slowly moving up and down, like they were having a seizure. Then he saw Milly come to him. She said, "Sorry Mr Robinson, but Larua says I must."_

_His pain was over._

***  
_he had been happy. Needed to stay happy for the children on Easter. But he had shown Bella the videos and she had argued. She'd said, "Listen, I don't know what kind of sicko would do this, but we're calling the cops!" "Bella, if we tell them after the Easter party, the children won't be upset that a bunch of police came round." "I suppose. Just get it sorted."_

_And now, when they were all sitting down at tea, little Fall talking to Bunny, he had been sleepy. He looked over at the others. They all seemed disorientated. In fact, as he picked up his cup and saw green drink underneath, he looked at Fall. She was holding an old-looking camera._

"_Don't worry," she chirped, "it'll be over soon."_

_Now, he was looking up at the March night sky, almost asleep. He could see one of the girls lying next to him on a cart, an Easter basket propped up at the edge._

_He could see Fall with the camera by her eye, filming it. Then she grabbed the cart handle and began pulling. He wondered what she was doing but then he felt himself fall. He looked over and saw the girl still asleep, face-down. Then he heard Fall wheeling another cart, before he saw a car light, whoever it was, please God, stop!_

_Bit now. They didn't stop. He tried struggling, but then heard the others being dumped. He could hear murmurings from the others, trying to scream as they tried to get out. Then he saw Fall with a shovel._

_Please, god, no!_

_But then, he saw Fall throwing the dirt in. so that was covering the older girl. Thank God she was still unconscious. He couldn't say the same for the others. He tried struggling but saw Fall keep on throwing._

_And there was someone standing by her as she threw dirt in. someone in a black cloak. "Mr Larua, I'm going as fast as I can." She said to him. What was this sicko?_

"_Fall," an almost robotic voice, accent less, hissed, "you're doing well. Use my strength to help."! Fall then threw dirt in the victim's eyes. He blinked several times, but it was deep in. and then by his nose. He could barely breathe but soon he gave up the struggle._

_His pain was over_.

***  
_she tried hard to be happy. A good happy hot August day. But she had seen the videos. Old weird videos. And now she was unhappy. Dakota and Reba were lying on the towel nearby, sunbathing._

_The videos had scared her. Especially the last one, the Easter one. It had been giving her nightmares._

_But now, catching the ball as she ran along the sand, she thought life might get better. She hadn't had nightmares for days and it may get better._

_Sipping some cola as she sat down, Ken felt sick. Maybe it was the cola. Maybe it was really out of date. But now she was really tired. Maybe it was the weather. She just lay down on the towel and began to go to sleep, as the multi-coloured ball bounced along._

_When she woke up, she could see the water coming closer. She tried moving and then found she was completely stuck. She saw him there. But why? Was why he killing them? She had most of her neck and mouth underwater, as it began spreading to Dakota._

_She kicked and struggled, trying to move, as the water rose higher, getting in her nostrils. She choked, and began choking on her fluid as her mouth was taped closed. She could see him walking away with an odd camera to Dakota and Reba, filming them dying._

_Her pain was over_.

***  
As he stepped out of the door, he wondered. BB was_ being rather odd lately and said he saw bright pictures. But now he looked. BB had come out in a little ghost costume, smiling. Over the last few days, BB had been happy._

_He wondered as he walked with the chattering children to the first house. He'd been wondering what on earth the reels were in the box. He'd seen horrible videos – people being killed. He'd just assumed it was some silly prank, they obviously had to be, and the blood didn't look real. But he'd been a bit unnerved. Whoever had filmed this, they'd got great actors._

_Now he just walked along. "BB is everything fine?" he nodded. "Yeah." "Well, remember to get enough sweets later for after tonight." "Sure."_

_Now the man stood in the kitchen as the children had gone upstairs to bed. He looked at the cup he was holding. It had green liquid at the bottom. A Post-It note read _Night-night Mr Hadsham_. Now he looked up. BB, in his ghost costume, overalls on top, held an axe. "I like the extended endings, Mr Hadsham." He said as Mr Hadsham felt faint. "But they take them out."_

_The next thing Hadsham knew was he was lying beside some of the others. But now they were very still. And there was a small dippy cup of red paint in. hadsham worked out what the red paint was when he saw it trailing them the others. A crude picture of a pumpkin was being painted on the wall by BB with a paintbrush._

_Hadsham struggled, but it was too tight. As Bb came up and raised the axe, he told him, "Don't worry Hadsham; you're going to a better place. But I'm not. Not for about fifty years anyway." Then Mr Hadsham closed his eyes as it swung down._

_His pain was over_.

Rick looked at Floss as Larua had begun. Handing Floss some matches and starting up. Rick struggled round and saw Carmen's eyes fluttering open. She was looking right at Rick, just sleepy. As Rick saw Floss begin to try and strike the matches, he began shifting over to Carmen.

Pulling a hairpin out from her hair, he began stabbing at the tape round his hands. Pulling himself up, he threw her back the clip as he leaned forward, ripping the tape from his ankles and mouth. He stood up, to the surprise of Floss and Larua, and asked, "Why?"

Larua simply repeated, "Why? Because it's how I survive. Oh, children today are _so_ ignorant! When I was worshipped, children would either be slaving away ion houses or fields or spending time beaten at school. And that's if you were boys."

Rick asked, as Carmen quickly began trying to prise the tape off her hands with the hairpin, "But why?" "because living off orphans is the only way I can be satisfied. I used to simply have them and give the stupid pagans what they wanted in return. A good harvest, a good year, a popular reign for a king. But even though they _gave_ sacrifices, if I simply didn't want to, I'd let them suffer. So they gave more. It's a little trick the supernatyurl use.

"Well, Rick, I trust you'd actually use your tiny brain cells that modern western children have and actually think.

"I used to have wax tablets, in case you wondered, after I came to Rome. I'd grab at one orphan house in Italia, that's the old word for Italy, and when an orphan I liked the look of was about to go, or if the child was over thirteen, the age of adulthood in the ancient world, I'd simply" he stroked Floss' hair, "pick the youngest."

Rick asked, so he tried to walk back toward the door, "So why haven't you gotten more kids? I mean, wouldn't there be hundreds?" Larua laughed. "After a half century, I don't know why, they simply vanished. I come from beyond the curtain between your world and mine. They worship me, obey me, without attention. But after half a century, they simply vanish. They go to…well…wherever dead people go. Because they were brainwashed, your gods look kindly on them and make them go to a happy afterlife. Since none of my "children" are actually truly dead, just after the curtain for a long time, they finally "die" after some time here, and their figures seem to rot like a dead corpse. It takes…about a number of seasons. They liked seasons in old time. Three, four, the most is five seasons.

"Oh Rick, you are such a strange boy. But let me tell you a bit more before I decide to burn you alive.

"After the wax tablets, I decided on tapestries in early to mid-medieval Europe. Of course, the borders so close, the Italian orphans soon moved on to French ones. And after that, the Germanic and Austrian ones. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were fun. I went all over the place. As time grew on, and with the invention of the printing press in 1450 AD, I saw some orphans, especially in charity and church orphanages, were beginning to write. So I made them at least draw the pictures of the dead ones. When film was invented, I chose this lovely 8mm camera. It adds atmospheres, don't you think?"

At this stage, Carmen had pulled the tape off her ankles and mouth but still hid behind the pool table. Tyler, his eyes now open for some time, hardly winced as Carmen began pulling his hands free.

"Tyler, stay quiet. There's a Lonnie trying to burn us." She hissed as she looked above. Larua didn't seem to notice they were awake or free.

"Listen Rick," larua began as a light breeze began opening the doors, pushing aside anyone, "my children worship me." At the door were two rows of children. The first row had Bb and Fall with Mark. Behind them, left to right, were Jacob, in his pyjamas, the boy from the beach, the tallest and oldest, and Milly.

"Come here, children." Larua told them, and then to Rick's surprise, they vanished. He turned and saw them standing by larua, his arms round BB and Milly. "there's no escape, rick."

Then little Floss looked up. Rick began to see she looked different already. Her eyes started getting bags under them and her skin was cracked. She answered, in a hissing tone like Larua, "Rick, accept the fact you are now a sacrifice."

Carmen and Tyler watched, helpless. But Carmen quickly pointed. "the doors are open, there's a chance. But we're going to be in plain sight." Tyler said, m "Fireworks?" Carmen frowned, disagreeing. Then she asked, "What about going round the sofas? The table's so big it covers the sofas." Tyler smiled, as Carmen got on her hands and knees, looking round to check, and then began crawling round.

By now, a few of the others were beginning to stir. Faith's eyes were fluttering and Johnny was moving. But Carmen and Tyler had managed to get out of the den. Running down the hallway to outside, Carmen asked, "What do we do?" "I don't know, right?" he sounded frustrated. Carmen looked round, "I have to go back! Lilly and Tee are in there." "Carmen, we're lucky we managed to get out. We have to leave or we're dead. And maybe they won't sacrifice unless all of us are there."

Maybe he was right. But Carmen still felt there was some way to get in.

Before either of them knew it, there was an explosion inside the den.

Glass flew everywhere, a few alarms went off and Carmen swore the pool cues had flown out. Screaming, she tried running forward, but could only see smoke.

Crying, she just looked away. But she couldn't hear any screaming, loud or muffled. She got confused, turning round. Rick was leaping through the window and headed to them.

***  
By the time police, fire and ambulance arrived; Rick had said that they'd been broken into. He said to Carmen that when larua looked up and Floss was about to set the firework on his leg on fire, Rick had thrown one of the matches right by the window where the table and laptop were, as far away from anyone there. It had completely shocked Larua and made him and the children, apart from Floss, disappear. Getting his phone out of his pocket and calling 999, he'd jumped through the broken window after ripping the firework off, and had waited.

He'd said he'd hated doing that, because it meant some of the residents would be in danger. But he said he had definitely made sure because there was at least a foot between the table with the laptop and the mattress. He'd also been sure before he left to knock a bottle of water on the floor.

By the time police had questioned them all, taking everyone else to hospital for checks, Rick had said some weird cult people had come in and tried to abduct Floss for some ritual. It wasn't far off but it made the police set up a massive search for anyone suspicious. It could last a long time.

The ones in hospital didn't remember much but Mike had said he remembered his drink being tainted. He also put the cult down to the goat head drawings, especially with Lilly adding evidence about the stuff she'd found.

Mike did say something about the reels, although by now they'd vanished and police guessed the cult took them as evidence. Although they did say it was some closure to what had happened to other orphanages.

The newspapers kept trying to come round and ask about the incident but Mike always shut the door on them.

Rick, sometime after it happened, lay on his bed thinking. They'd been so close to being fried. And what exactly had happened to Larua? Was the cycle broken? He just knew it was unlikely to affect Elm tree any more.

In Harrison orphanage, now a mental asylum, a small box of reels lay down in the attic. A projector with some reels. _Christmas '64. Happy new year '74. Valentine's Day '82. Easter '99. Summer Holiday'08. Halloween '11._ And _Bonfire Night '13_.

Just for anyone who may come in and decide to look at reels.

**A/N: thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Also, Larua is Latin for bogeyman. And I hope it's scary enough.**

**Sweet dreams.**


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